I spend lots of time out at the bay. I'd guess I go two or three times a week. Seems like this year I've had more issues with the power squad than in the past.
Last Saturday, at about 12:45 I was fishing along the west dike. Since I was throwing buggers with my flyrod up against the rocks, I couldn't have been more than 40 feet off the dike. See attached picture. A boat pulling a skier came up behind me. The skier fell about the same time I hit my air horn (on the third can of air this summer). The driver, swerved towards the dike and I took a picture. Then, he swerved even closer as he went in front of me to pickup the downed skiier.
This morning, I took the picture out to the park and talked to Officer Pili. He asked me to e-mail the picture to him and he'd file a report and also said, in the future call them from the water any time a boat violates the 150 foot rule and theyll get someone out to investigate and write citation. Here's the phone #s:
Box Elder Dispatch (435) 734-3800
911 (He said don't hesitate to use 911 if you're threatened - see bad boater picture)
While calling and reporting is something we should all do, I personally think more needs to be done before someone is killed or seriously injured, i.e Pineview a few years ago). Please complete the poll above. I'll make an appointment with the DWR Chief in Salt Lake City in a couple of weeks and present him with the results.
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Passing more rules will not solve the problem, enforcing the existing rules will.
Until some of the idiots get busted and the word gets out there is no reason for them to even know the rules, let alone follow them.
Just saying,
I'm with you. Where is the poll?
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unfortunately you can not change the uninformed, or the stupidity of some people. it was awesome you followed up with the ranger and even took a picture.
next time establish dominance. go pick up the skier, take them to the middle of the lake, knock him off your boat, and tell him good luck with the swim back to shore!
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Im totally with you on this ! I was there and fish the same area and we trolled around you in 14' aluminum boat the crazy thing about it was that it wasnt just the one boat that seem to doing this what that tell me is that no body is giving a .... about it about 3pm that day on the way back to north marina we got stop by dwr boat to check my catch and my safety gear in middle of the lake (really)
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Agreed. About as good as passing more gun control laws that would only have a negative effect on the gun owners that already abide by too many laws.
And that's why I stopped carrying my pistol when I'm at Willard. Too tempted to let fly a few rounds at their waterline.
I have started carrying my new camera, mainly to get better photos for the fishing contests. But by the time I can get it out and pointed at some power squadron scoff law, they are moving so fast they are too far away.
But I keep tryin
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Reminds me my grandpa used to haul a bucket of smaller than golf ball sized rocks and a wrist rocket around in his boat to ward off intruding skiers at Island Park . We had a cloud ski right past us last Sunday at 50 to 75 feet away.
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Most of the Rangers I have talked to with this problem have said Get pictures or video and they will enforce it
Still sucks to interupt fishing for an idiot[mad]
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Last Wednesday afternoon at Willard, I had a DWR boat come in the area, and I saw him bust out his binoculars to look at my boat. No ideas if he was looking for someone, making sure I wasn't trolling with too many rods. It was a first either way, nice to see that they make some sort of attempt.
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He was checking your registration tags on the bow of your boat. And it's not just on the water that they have no respect. The other evening I went to Benson marina launched my boat and fished until just before dark. When recovering my boat some jet skiers had recovered their stuff before me and then just sat on the ramp and gabbed while another guy was waiting to recover his boat. I even said to the guy I was with about how ignorant it was to hog the ramp rather loudly, I guess they got the message and finally moved. One guy smiling at me a little sheepishly. They had been there awhile, all their stuff was stowed and tied down.
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Rod, off topic a bit, but was the dock out at Benson?
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[#0000FF]I put up a report on the south marina today...but I left out the "interlude" as I was ramping up my tube. I always park in the spot closest to the water on the north ramp. Then I unload and launch without having to move the car. When coming back in today, I was heading for the spot I launched...next to my car...and a big wakeboard boat wheels around and starts backing down right toward me.
Then, the guy in the boat yells at me to get the %$#@ out of the way. I stood up and yelled back "That is my car and this is where I launch and get out. You have 3 ramps to launch on so go find another spot. " He kept coming but stopped and pulled around over to another ramp. Glad I didn't have to employ my CC permit.
And that ain't the first time something like that has happened. Had another doofus try to tell me that the ramps were for boats only. I asked him how much more he paid than I do for a permit...to allow him to run over everybody else. When we got up close and personal and he saw that I was bout twice his size he mellowed out.
Seems like some boaters have a brain inversely proportionate in size to the size of their boat.
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There is usually an employee at the boat prep area checking for mussel reports.
Why can't they give out a list of regs to everyone that they are checking.
They could also talk to boaters that are obviously there for skiing and remind them about the 150' rule.
No need for more regs. Just enforce the current rules.
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Strawberry 4 weeks ago we had a boat pulling a tuber go within 50' of us, The week before at Electric we had a boat running up and down the lake with a skier, again coming within 50' of us. We took pictures hoping to find someone to report it to but to no avail.
Strawberry seems to be getting more and more of these *********.
We have good registration pics. of the one at Elect. on the ramp who should we send these to with our complaint this to?
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TD, I've reported several times folks obviously not old or handicapped parking in the senior/disabled slots. Also, learned not to confront, just call the office and let them deal with it.
Larry
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[#0000FF]The signs designating the "special status" of that parking area have been taken down...either by the rangers or by Utah "citizens".
But my point was not so much the parking issue as the doofus who plainly could see me coming in to the ramp to take out next to my car...and then starting to back his boat trailer down right on top of me. There was nobody else launching or taking out boats on any of the three ramps at the time. He just chose to make an issue of "who's got the biggest boat".
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Yes it is in the water. The one next to the ramp is at an angle to make some room I guess.
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